Repair Price Associated with Faulty Drive Shaft

The drive shaft is one of the most essential parts of the vehicle. It pushes the torque towards the wheels, bringing a movement in the wheel.  It connects the transmission and the car’s engine for the vehicle’s movement. The shape of the driver shaft is like a tube or a cylinder. It mainly provides power to the rear wheels of the car. Mostly the drive shaft gets damaged due to a severe accident. It can also get affected by more usage with time. Many different symptoms can cause the failure of the drive shaft. A high level of shaking under the car and worn-out joints can cause the drive shaft failure.

This blog will walk you through various symptoms of drive shaft failure, and whether you should go for a drive shaft repair or replacement, followed by diagnosing the shaft to repair or replace. Then this post will discuss the cost associated with the repairing process and how you can reduce that cost. So, if want to know all about it, keep reading till the end.

So, let’s get started.

Before you get your car’s drive shaft repaired or replaced, you should know about all the symptoms of the drive shaft failure. Some of the common symptoms or signs of the drive shaft failure are given below.

• Clunking Sounds from Under the Car

If you start to hear loud noises or clucking sounds from under your car, this means the U-Joint part of the drive shaft has failed. The drive shaft of a car has many different parts; one of its main components is U-Joint. If The U-joint gets broken or defective, you will start to hear clucking sounds from under your car. So always make sure the U-joint of the drive shaft is working correctly.  

• Vibrations

The vibrations of the car can also be one of the symptoms of the failure of the drive shaft. If you feel very excessive vibrations while driving your car, then it can be because of a problem in the drivetrain. The identical problem that's causing any clucking noises can also be the cause of this driveshaft failure. The main reason for the frequent vibrations in your car can be the unbalanced drive shaft. If there is a bend in the drive shaft, it costs around 300$ to repair it and make it straight again. You might also think that whether ignition coil or spark plug can be the reason for frequent vibrations, but the drive shaft is the main cause for this.

• No Movement in the Car

The drive shaft provides the torque power to the rear vehicle, which brings the movement in the car. If the car stops moving, then the main cause of it will be a faulty or bad drive shaft. The engine will also be on but will not be able to move. If the car’s drive shaft is damaged and you try to move the car, then you will hear some loud noises coming from the shaft. The drive shaft will start to strike the car at different intervals.

• Issues In Turning

If you face a problem turning your car, the main reason for it can be a faulty drive shaft. The faulty U-joint in the drive shaft would not provide the appropriate torque power to help the car. Turning problems can be because of other issues like damaged suspension or low steering fluid level in your car. If you find out the main reason for turning is due to the drive shaft, then you should get it repaired by a professional mechanic at the earliest because it can cause a severe accident if your steering wheel stops at one side.

Before analyzing the repairing cost of the drive shaft, it is a very important question to answer whether you should replace the drive shaft or get your drive shaft repaired. It mainly depends on the money you are willing to spend on your car. If you want to spend a good amount of money and get your car in perfect condition, then you should definitely get the drive shaft completely replaced. And if you have less amount of money, then you should get it repaired.

You can decide whether or not you need to replace your car's drive shaft by learning how to diagnose the driveshaft. You need to determine if you want it repaired by a professional mechanic or want to do it yourself. The car must be raised in order to reach it and check it from underneath for this diagnosing process. You must use a pry tool to open the U-joint of the drive shaft.

Additionally, ensure sure the U-joint bushings are not all cracked or covered with mud or sand, which is what typically gets inside of them and damages these parts. Mostly the sand or dirt damages the U-joint or the drive shaft yoke. The four U-joints of the car should be completely intact and be in perfect condition. If they are not in a good condition, you should get them changed completely. Now you should also check the center support bearing, and if it is not in perfect condition, then you should get it replaced with a new one.

After reviewing the center support bearing, now you should check the flex disc and make sure it does not have any cracks or gaps in it. If the flex disc has any of these, you should also get it replaced. After completely diagnosing the drive shaft, you should take the decision according to your budget that you need the drive shaft repaired or replaced. But repairing can also be done if you have a budget problem.

As drive shaft is one of the most essential parts of the vehicle. When the drive shaft goes bad, most parts need to be replaced. The repairing cost of the drive shaft depends on the type and model of your car. The drive shaft of regular sedans or cars with less power is less expensive than high-power vehicles or large-size SUVs.  

On average, a drive shaft costs between 300$ - 1300$. It is different for different cars. If you plan to buy a drive shaft on your own without the help of a professional mechanic, then make sure you buy the right one which completely fits your car model, type, transmission, and engine. The total cost of repairing a drive shaft goes around 400$ - 1500$. This price range includes the parts and labor cost of drive shaft repairing.

The average time period required to repair a car’s drive shaft is around one hour to two hours. You can also fix the driveshaft yourself. There are many online guides or videos available that you can watch to repair the drive shaft of your car. The online guides provide a step-by-step guide for repairing the drive shaft. This step-by-step guide makes it very easy to repair or replace the drive shaft on your own, and you can save the labor cost by doing it on your own. The prices of the drive shaft vary according to the model of the car, type of the car, engine capacity, transmission, and drivetrain. The manual transmission cars will have a different drive shaft, whereas the automatic cars will have a different one. The repair of the drive shaft is very much cheaper as compared to the replacement of the drive shaft. These fixes typically cost significantly less and take roughly the same time period as a drivetrain overhaul.

Before going towards reducing the repairing cost of a faulty drive shaft you should first know that the drive shaft is one of the most important and main parts of your car. If the repair or replacement of the drive shaft is done incorrectly then it can create some more big problems for you. Firstly, you can take price estimates from different mechanics and shops about the labor cost and parts needed. By doing this you can get the best possible price. Secondly, you can repair a bad drive shaft on your own it can save you some dollars. So, these are some of the ways you can use to reduce the repair cost of a faulty or bad drive shaft.

Yes, you can drive your car with a faulty drive shaft, but you cannot continue to drive it for a more extended period of time. If you keep on going with a defective drive shaft, then your axle can break or can create a problem for the driver if it can restrict the forward movement of your car. A bad drive shaft can cause a severe accident, so it is highly recommended to get your faulty or bad drive shaft repaired or replaced at the earliest by a professional mechanic or yourself.

In this article, we have discussed the drive shaft repair cost. The drive shaft is one of the most important components of the car because it makes the car move. So, the drive shaft should be completely intact and perfect in condition. If your drive shaft is creating some problems for you while driving then you should definitely get it repaired or replaced according to your budget. Mostly the average cost of repairing or replacing the drive shaft is between 300$ - 1500$.

So, it is highly recommended to get your drive shaft in perfect condition because a faulty or bad drive shaft can cause severe accidents for the driver or the passengers sitting in the car. There are many different causes and symptoms of drive shaft failure, like clucking sounds from underneath the car, frequent and high-frequency vibrations, no movement in the car, and problems in turning the vehicle. You should keep in mind all these symptoms so you can know what problem you are facing when you have these symptoms in your car.